Did BP executives lie to Congress?

It certainly looks that way, and no one in the traditional media has said a word about it.

First, have a look at section 7.1 of the Initial Exploration Plan Mississippi Canyon Block 252 for lease OCS-G 32306 (heavy PDF), submitted by BP Exploration and Production Inc. to the government's Mineral Management Service:

162,000 is the number of barrels of oil per day that BP stated could result from an uncontrolled blowout.